kitsune kimera
by miroku moto
Summary: Title roughly means fox chimera. A madeup character escapes from a laboratory and meets the famous Flame Alchemist. Rated T for some swearing and violence.
1. The Meeting

A lone fox ran along the streets of Central City, Amestris.  
She hustled through the darkness, with only the simple street  
lights to guide her. 

Something about this fox made it different from normal foxes,  
however. Its fur was a rich shade of purple with a white tail  
tip and belly. And, if it one were to look closely, they  
would see what seemed like two tattoos on the creature: one  
being a tao on its forehead, the other a transmutation circle  
on its left front leg. The fox also wore a green leather  
collar, with a tag that read: Fox.

Where she was running, she wasn't sure. She only knew she had  
to get away from Reese. The man scared her, and wasn't the  
best caretaker either. Panting heavily, she continued to run  
blindly... until something hit her.

By the time she heard the piercing screech, it was too late.  
The fox's body was flung about 10 feet before she hit the  
ground with a thud. _Ugh... Damnit! _ She attempted to stand  
up, but felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder and arm --  
the place of impact. She slumped back down and looked in the  
direction of the thing that hit her, awaiting her fate.

Colonel Roy Mustang had slammed on the brakes the moment he  
saw the creature jump out in front of his car, but it was  
too late. "Shit..." He put the car in park and hopped out,  
running to the injured animal.

The fox immediately bared her fangs and raised her hackles,  
growling the best she could. For all she knew, this man  
could have worked for Reese.

Roy slowed his pace and smiled reassuringly at the creature.  
"Hey now, you don't want to growl at ME. I'm here to help."  
That didn't ease any of her fears, however, and she growled  
even more.

The Colonel tried something different. Running back to his  
car, he retrieved some chicken. He got on his knees and  
cautiously placed the meat in front of her.

Curious, the fox quieted down and crawled forward. She  
happily ate the chicken, though she kept an eye on the man.  
She looked up at him, expecting more. It was quite delicious.

Roy chuckled softly. "There's more where that came from,  
but you'll have to trust me. Let me help you." He held out  
his hand for her to sniff it.

Eyeing the man carefully, the fox crept up and sniffed his  
hand. She felt no threatening aura, and therefore relaxed  
a bit. She even nuzzled his hand as a sign that she would  
trust him for now.

Happy, Roy patted her between the ears. That's when he  
noticed the collar. Holding it between his fingers, he read  
it aloud. "Fox... Quite a fitting name." He stood up and  
motioned for her to follow. "I know a place where you can  
recover." He opened the back door. "Get on in."

Fox limped to the vehicle and jumped inside with his help.  
She received another pat on the head.

"Good-- uh..." Roy took a quick peek. "Good girl. Now then,  
let's go home." He drove to his squadron's base at  
Central HQ and carried his groceries to his private quarters.  
On the way, he and Fox were getting some strange looks, but  
the Colonel took care of that with a few sharp orders to  
keep quiet about their guest.

Fox hobbled after him on three legs, and was relieved when  
they finally came to his room. She went to lay down in the  
center of the living quarters while the man put away his  
groceries.

Roy made a phonecall asking for a medic, then prepared  
dinner for two. He set a plate down in front of Fox.  
"You'll be safe here."

Fox nodded in appreciation and started eating.

Roy ate while waiting for the medical team to arrive.


	2. Semi Quiet Evening

The medical team arrived and was surprised to see  
a creature such as Fox. The doctor and nurse  
slowly closed the door behind them and approached  
the creature.

"I assume it's friendly," the doctor said  
casually.

Roy nodded. "Yes, she is," he told them.

The nurse checked Fox's front right leg and  
shoulder blade. "The poor thing has a bad gash  
right on her shoulder," she noted. "And it looks  
like she has some pretty nasty bruises as well."

The doctor took a moment to absorb this. "Okay,  
let's start by cleaning the wound."

The two-man team set to work. Fox yelped and  
snapped at the medics when they applied a cleaning  
solution to the cut on her shoulder. Roy had to  
pat her on the head and assure her that everything  
was alright.

Grimacing, the fox endured the pain as the doctor  
and nurse finished cleaning and bandaging her.

Roy patted Fox on the head while telling her how  
brave and how good she was.

The doctor instructed the Colonel to change  
bandages every so often until the bleeding stopped.  
Then he handed over some pain pills and he and the  
nurse left the room.

Roy gave Fox a couple pills to start off with. He  
then returned to his desk to finish some paperwork,  
while she lay in the center of his office. She  
watched him for a while before growing bored and  
falling asleep. She figured she would try moving  
tomorrow.

After working for about a half hour, Roy decided  
that his food has settled enough for him to sleep.  
He got up from his chair and neatly pushed it back  
under his desk.

The noise woke up Fox. She looked over at him  
silently, then yawned.

Roy looked behind him and saw that she was watching  
him. A faint smile crossed his lips. "Goodnight."  
Before leaving his office to his bedroom, he  
remembered one last thing. He looked to her and  
said, "By the way, my name is Roy Mustang. Please  
excuse me if I seem a bit rude. It's been a long  
day, and I'm tired."

With that said, he left Fox alone. She laid her head  
back down and fell back asleep.

The next morning, Fox woke up as the sun was just  
beginning to rise. She yawned and tried getting up.  
There was a slight twinge of pain in her right  
shoulder. Thanks to those pain pills, however, the  
pain is a lot less severe than it should be.

She stood up straight and limped around, sniffing  
things here and there. She lifted her head when she  
heard a noise coming from the bedroom. Curious, she  
quickly hobbled over to the door.

She couldn't possibly open it in her current form,  
but she could at least get Roy's attention. She  
gently pawed at the door and whimpered softly.

Footsteps told her that someone was coming. Roy  
calmly opened the door and smiled down at her.  
He was dressed in formal pajama wear. "Just a  
minute now." Closing the door, he proceeded to  
get dressed.

He came out in his uniform, although this one was  
obviously another set. The one he wore the night  
before had stains on it from when he had crawled  
on his hands and knees.

Fox looked up at him happily. It was probably the  
first time she has ever been glad to see a human.

"Hungry?" Roy stepped around her and headed for his  
desk. "I'll need to make a phone call." He picked up  
the phone and dialed. "It's me. Listen, Riza, I  
need you to tell everyone about our newest member."

He explained the situation about Fox over the phone  
-- about how he had ran into her, and the fact that  
she could be a chimera.

Roy hung up and walked over to Fox, giving her a good  
scratch behind the ears. "Well, should we go get some  
breakfast then?"

Fox nodded and limped to the door. She looked back to  
see if the Colonel was coming.

He looked at her in disbelief, then smirked. "So,  
you understand human speech. That must mean..." He  
trailed off, finishing the thought in his head.

He opened the door, and the two of them walked to  
the mess hall. 


	3. Messhall

As Fox and Roy walked down the halls of the barracks,  
she heard the morning announcements over the speakers  
and the mini chaos that was the soldiers scrambling  
about. She tensed up in nervousness and whimpered.

Roy looked down at her. "Don't worry. You'll get  
used to it." He patted her on the head as an added  
reassurance.

Fox relaxed a bit, though it still didn't change the  
fact that all this new stuff was scarey. But she  
would trust him. He seemed nice enough, for now at  
least... Only time would tell.

Roy eventually led her to the mess hall. The duo  
received several strange looks as well as a few  
"Good morning"s. The Colonel nodded to his  
subordinates and took Fox to the center of the  
large room.

Roy cleared his throat. "Listen up, everyone!" He  
looked around the room to make sure he had everyone's  
attention. Once he did, he gestured to Fox. "As you  
may already know, we have a new recruit. This  
recruit is a chimera."

There were several quiet whispers among the troops.  
Roy hushed them all and continued. "Her name is Fox,  
and your job is to protect her and make her feel  
welcome. That is all."

The soldiers dispersed and continued with their meal.  
All except for one. Master Sergeant Kain Fuery came  
bounding along to Fox.

Fox took cover behind Roy and yipped at the newcomer.

Roy chuckled. "Don't worry about him. He's alright.  
In fact, he loves animals."

Kain nodded and held out his hand. "Sorry I scared  
you..."

Fox stepped up to the young man and sniffed his hand.  
She then gave it a lick to show she trusted him.

Kain laughed and petted her some before returning to  
his table to eat.

Roy looked down at her and said, "Well, let's get  
something to eat too." He led her to the front of  
the line forming at the kitchen counter. A perk of  
being a Colonel is that you don't have to wait.

The Colonel asked for two trays of food, and when  
asked why, he pointed to Fox. The cook understood  
this and did what he was asked.

With their food, Roy and Fox went to his usual table  
to eat. He set her tray down on the floor where it  
would be easier for her to reach.

Riza Hawkeye was already sitting at the table, along  
with Maes Hughes. It seemed as if the First Lieutenant  
had been waiting a while, and she scolded Roy for it. 


	4. Business As Usual

Riza smiled sincerely at Fox. "Hello." To her  
surprise, the chimera slightly bowed in response.  
"Well, aren't you a clever one?" she said  
amusingly.

Roy scratched the chimera behind the ears with  
a smile. He then turned back to his First  
Lieutenant. "Do you have something for me?"

Riza nodded and handed over some paperwork.  
As the Colonel read through it, she explained.  
"There have been reports of attacks on the nearby  
villages and small towns. Eye-witnesses and  
investigators believe it to be the work of  
chimeras."

Roy nodded understandingly. "Have there been  
any casualties?"

"Several... The higher-ups want us to see who's  
behind this mess, and to stop the attacks before  
they worsen." Riza narrowed her eyes. "I'm  
pretty sure it was Reese who did this..." She  
motioned with her head to Fox, who was busy eating,  
yet still listening. "Do you think...?"

Roy caught on. "That she was one of the chimeras  
attacking the community? Probably..." He scratched  
his chin. "But that doesn't explain her disposition,  
or the fact that she was traveling alone last night."

Maes, who had been quiet the whole time, chimed in.  
"Do you think she escaped from Reese?" He actually  
had a serious look on his face.

Roy looked to Fox. "That could be the case. If  
only she could tell us what's going on... this would  
be a whole lot easier."

Fox looked up at him with head cocked to the side.  
_If only I could... but... No, I can't..._

"I'm going there right away." Roy stood up, finished  
with his meal. "Riza, Maes, this could be dangerous.  
Come if you want to, but since these are chimera we  
could be up against..."

"Of course we're going. I can't let you get into  
such a dangerous situation without help," Riza cut  
in. She looked firmly at her superior. "I'm going,  
like it or not."

Maes laughed. "You can't have all the action now,  
sir. And she's right. Hey, maybe we should take our  
little friend with us." He looked to the fox chimera.  
"She could give us clues about this whole thing."

Roy looked flustered at Riza, but nodded. "You're  
right. And good call, Hughes. We should bring her  
along. Okay, gather everything you'll be needing  
for the mission. I'll meet you at the flag pole in  
one hour."

"Sir!" both of them responded. Maes and Riza took off  
immediately to their quarters to prepare.

Roy looked to Fox. "We should get ready too." He  
fed her a couple more pain pills and started to lead  
her back to his private quarters.

Fox, however, had something she needed to do first.  
She whimpered and yipped at Roy, pawing at his legs.

"Hmm? What is it?" The Colonel seemed confused. He  
didn't understand what she wanted.

Frustrated, the fox chimera growled and hunched over,  
tail erect.

Roy nearly had a conniption. "Wait! Don't!" Quickly,  
he half-dragged, half-led her outside.

Fox smiled to herself. He finally got it. She dug a  
small hole, relieved herself, and covered her business.  
She trotted back to Roy, who was waiting nearby, and  
was led to his bedroom. 


	5. Short Journey

In his bedroom, Roy prepared his gun and packed  
a few pens and some paper in a bag. He also  
stuffed some food packages, water canteens,  
first aid supplies, and other necessary  
provisions into the bag.

Taking a step back, the Colonel looked at the  
swollen bag. "That's a lot of stuff to carry..."  
He looked at Fox and thought about having her  
carry it. "No, she's injured..."

Fox yipped and tugged at the bag.

Roy raised an eyebrow at this. "What are you  
saying? That you'll carry it?"

She nodded. _I can do it, Roi-sama!_

Roy chuckled, taking that as a yes. "Very well  
then, since you believe you can handle it. But  
if it gets to be too much for you, I'll take  
it off your paws."

He fetched a piece of rope and used it to help  
keep the bag on her back. The bag itself DID  
have armstraps, but they only fit snugly on a  
human...

Roy patted Fox on the head. "Let's get going."  
He lead her outside and to the flag pole. There,  
his two subordinates were already waiting. They  
saluted him.

Maes grinned at Fox. "Hello again, Miss Fox."  
He turned back to the Colonel. "I've gotten us  
a ride to the village that was last attacked.  
There are a few survivors that we can get some  
information from regarding the attack."

Roy nodded. He turned to the small team that was  
with Riza. "And what are these people doing here?"

"Sir, we're going to need some help, like I said.  
Therefore, I've whipped up a small team to aid  
us in case we are attacked," Riza explained.

Roy nodded again. "Very well. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes sir!" everyone responded, save for Fox, who  
yipped instead.

There were two cars total, enough to carry the  
nine-man team. Roy and Maes sat in the front of  
one car with Fox and two others in the back.  
Riza and three others were in the other car.

Fox had a bad feeling about the whole situation.  
She whimpered and whined every now and then,  
feeling uneasy. She would receive a pat on the  
head from Roy every time she did so, and would  
be told that "everything is alright."

Once they reached the village, it was apparent  
that the locals were still cleaning up the horrible  
mess from the attack last night. Fox noticed the  
smell of blood in the air. She figured it would  
take a while and a bit more cleaning before it  
went away.

Everyone got out of the car and looked around.  
The scenary was dark and gloomy, not uncommon after  
such a disaster.

"This is horrible," Riza noted. "Just look at this  
place. Everything's stained with blood and littered  
with dead bodies."

On the outside, Roy seemed unscathed, though Fox  
sensed a bit of sadness in him. She nudged his leg  
and whined.

One of the locals spotted Fox and screamed,  
"M-Monster!!" Other locals were shouting things  
such as, "They're back!" "Run for your lives!"  
and, "Murderer!"

"Wait, please!" Maes tried to calm everyone down.  
However, the crowd didn't grow silent until Roy  
crouched down near the fox chimera and petted her.  
They watched in awe as the once thought ferocious  
beast happily licked his face.

Roy stood back up and turned to the locals. "There's  
no need to be afraid. This is not the chimera that  
attacked your village. In fact, she is here to help  
us."

The villagers were not quite sure about that yet. One  
of the children slowly approached Fox. She wagged  
her tail and sat down on her haunches, letting the  
boy pet her. The boy smiled and looked to his worried  
mother. "Doggy good," he said confidently.

"Good girl," Roy told her, patting her on the head.  
He turned to the locals. "We came here to gather  
information on the attack. May we talk to the Mayor?"

"And just who would be looking for the Mayor?" An  
elderly man with a walking stick asked. He had a thin  
grey beard and a receeding hairline.

Roy turned to the man. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang,  
from Central City HQ. I'm with the military." He  
turned to his subordinates. "With me are Lieutenant  
Colonel Maes Hughes and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

The elderly man nodded. "Very well then. Come, I'll  
take you to my home."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Roy and the others  
walked alongside the man to his old home. 


	6. Gathering Data

"Well, we're here," the old man announced. The  
house was a little small, but seemed okay enough  
on the outside. The small garden appeared to  
have been trampled on, however.

The man laughed lightly. "I know, it doesn't  
seem like much, but it's been home for fourty  
years now. It's a nice enough place." He unlocked  
and opened the door. "Please, come in."

The inside of the house was quite nice indeed.  
It had a warm, homey feeling to it. Fox sniffed  
around as she and the others were led to the  
living room. She could smell the stench of  
chimeras, still lingering from the night before.

The Mayor's wife prepared snacks. Soon, the  
soothing aroma of mint and strawberry filled the  
house. The Mayor himself sat with Roy, Maes,  
Riza, and Fox. The five other soldiers patrolled  
the immediate area.

Roy started the conversation. "Let me get straight  
to the point. We came here to investigate the attack  
on your village."

"Oh, yes, it was horrible," the old man started.  
"It happened late at night, while everyone was  
sleeping. These terrible beasts appeared out of  
thin air, I tell you! They just started rampaging  
about, killing everything in sight. People were  
screaming bloody murder, and I had to take shelter  
in the basement with my wife."

Roy "hm"ed. "Tell me, what did these beasts look  
like?"

The old man frowned. "Well, I don't much care to  
remember their horrible faces..."

"Please, Mayor," Riza pleaded. "Any information  
you can give us about the attackers is crucial."

"Okay..." The Mayor thought for a moment. "They  
looked as though they came from a horror book, or  
some sick man's imagination. They had a mix-and-  
match look about them. Some of them had lion parts,  
wolf parts, even wings! Strong little suckers, too.  
If it weren't for the steel-plated door that leads  
to the basement, well... we wouldn't be a live today."

The wife came in with the snacks: mint tea with  
strawberry scones for the people. She gave Fox strips  
of turkey.

Maes smiled and thanked the woman.

Roy nodded. "Do you remember anything else from the  
night before?"

"Hmm... Well, I do remember hearing men yelling out  
orders to those monsters." The old man stared at  
his tea. "Don't remember much else I'm afraid."

Riza smiled. "Don't worry about it. That's all the  
information we need. Right sir?"

Roy nodded again. "Now that we know for sure what  
attacked your village, we'll just need to track the  
culprits down."

Fox sniffed the turkey strips and ate them, wagging  
her tail. She looked up at Roy's scone, which was  
already almost gone. She whimpered and looked from  
him to the food.

Roy held back a chuckle. "You want some of this, do  
you?" He handed her the last piece, which she  
gobbled up immediately.

"We should get going." The Colonel stood up and  
prepared to leave. "Thank you for your time, Mayor."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all," the old man told  
him. He showed everyone to the door. "Thanks for  
coming! Hope to see you again soon!" he called out  
after them.

Roy looked around him. It was growing dark. "Hmm...  
Riza, Maes, let's see if we can track them down."

Fox sniffed the ground. The scent of chimeras  
seemed strong. _They're close by!_ She growled,  
then yipped and started running off towards the  
origin of the scent.

"Wait!" Roy ran after her, with his subordinates  
close behind. 


	7. Chimera Fight

Fox led the others to the outskirts of the  
village. A small camp has been set up in  
the wilderness there. Snarling, growling,  
and howling could be heard. It was coming  
from the iron cages being lifted into horse  
wagons and buggies.

Fox and the others took cover in some  
shrubbery and watched on. However, their  
efforts to hide themselves failed for the  
most part.

One of the chimera being put into its cage  
sniffed in their direction and growled. The  
man holding it had a hard time doing so, as  
the muscular beats strained at its leash.

"What's the matter?" the man asked. "Are  
there intruders? Heh, probably survivors  
from our training. We'll take care of them."  
He turned to his superior. "Hey, sir! We've  
got company!" he called out, motioning to  
the bushes.

Roy cursed aloud. "Not good..." He prepared  
his gun for firing, while Maes, Riza, and  
the other five soldiers prepared their  
weapons as well.

The soldier's superior nodded. "Kill them."

Grinning madly, the soldier let go of the  
leash, and the beast rushed towards the  
group.

Riza fired her weapon, the bullet going  
straight through the chimera's eye. It  
stumbled to the ground and shook violently  
for a couple seconds before dying.

The soldier whipped out his gun and prepared  
to fire, but Roy beat him to the punch. He  
shot the weapon out of his hand, then aimed  
for the gut. The Colonel then gave his comrades  
some cover by setting the superior and the  
surrounding soldiers on fire.

FOx took advantage of the moment and ran off  
further into the camp. To the enemy soldiers,  
she just seemed like a fleeing chimera, coming  
back to receive backup.

The soldiers began opening cages and letting  
their chimera out.

Fox prevented a few of the cages from opening  
by taking out the soldiers. She leapt for their  
necks and strangled them. She heard a soldier  
sneak up on her just as she was taking one  
down.

Before she could act, a shot rang out, and she  
squeezed her eyes shut. But instead of feeling  
a sharp pain, she heard her attack cry out in  
agony. She opened her eyes and saw Roy standing  
over the fallen soldier.

The Colonel smiled. "You okay?" A few low growls  
interrupted the moment, and he turned toward  
their source.

There were relatively few soldiers and chimera  
to begin with, and these three chimera seemed to  
be the last handful... at least, in this part  
of the camp...

Fox growled menacingly, raising her hackles and  
puffing up the fur on her tail.

The chimera circled them. This is what they were  
trained for, created for. That thirst for blood,  
with no show of mercy. They charged from three  
different angles.

Roy fired at one and set fire the head of another,  
while Fox took on the third. One of the chimera  
went straight for his throat, but got a mouthful  
of his arm instead. It held on and tugged, trying  
to rip his arm out of its socket.

Fox ran at the chimera she was fighting, zig-zagging  
to try and confuse her opponent. It worked, as the  
chimera tried to follow her quick movements. She  
ducked down and tore at the enemy's soft underbelly.  
It yelped and snarled, trying to get its jaws around  
her.

But Fox moved quickly and managed to avoid most of  
its bites. She turned around and kicked the chimera  
square in the face. Stunned for a split second, it  
didn't notice her going for its throat before it  
was too late. She had the beast down in seconds.

Happy and a bit proud of herself, Fox turned to Roy,  
who was being strangled by the last chimera. Blood  
was drippig from his neck and mouth, and he was  
gasping for air.

Furiated, Fox lunged at the beast, tearing apart  
its stomach until its entrails dangled out. She  
then finished it off by clamping her jaw down on  
its throat. It only took seconds.

Fox looked back to Roy, who has collapsed from lack  
of air, as well as loss of blood. "Roi-sama..."  
The transmutation-circle-tattoo on her left front  
leg started to glow, and the fox chimera transformed  
into a young girl.

She was dressed in raggedy clothing, and had short,  
purple hair. Her eyes were the same wild yellow  
color as when she was in chimera form. Picking up  
Roy, she slowly made her way to a horse wagon. 


	8. Secret Unveiled

Fox set Roy down in the bed of the wagon and took  
off the bag she was carrying. She was sweating  
and panting a little. She opened the bag up and  
pulled out some disinfectants, bandages, and  
gauze.

Fox cringed as pain suddenly shot through her right  
arm. The battle with the chimera and enemy soldiers  
reopened the wounds on her shoulder and arm. And  
what's worse, it seemed as if the pain pills were  
wearing off.

Fox rummaged through the bag once more and found  
the bottle of pills. Opening it, she took two,  
closed the bottle, and put it away.

Next, she tended to Roy the best she could. She  
didn't have a whole lot of medical training, but  
she knew a few basics. First, she used the  
disinfectants to clean the wounds. Then, she  
applied gauze and wrapped the wounds with the  
bandages.

Fox turned to her own cuts and cleaned them,  
grimacing as she did so. It stung badly, but she  
had to endure it. She was about to apply gauze when  
she hear people calling for Roy.

"Damn!" She looked in the direction of the voices.  
Maes and Riza were heading this way. They spotted  
her just as she was starting to run off.

Riza raised her gun and shouted, "Freeze!" When  
the girl didn't stop, she fired a warning shot  
towards her leg.

Fox felt the bullet graze her left leg as she  
ducked behind a wagon full of cages. The gunshot  
had startled a bunch of the chimera inside the  
cages, and they started making noises.

Maes stayed by Roy as Riza gave chase. She ran  
around the corner of the wagon and trained her  
gun on the girl. A bead of sweat rolled down the  
side of her face.

"Alright, who are you?" Rize demanded. "And what  
were you doing with the Colonel?"

Fox remained silent, staring at the woman in fear.  
She didn't know what to say. Should she tell her  
the truth? Would anyone believe it?

Riza realized she was scaring the poor girl and  
lowered her gun. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are  
you here all by yourself? Don't you know it's  
dangerous out here?" She figured the girl wasn't  
affiliated with those rogue soldiers.

Sitting on her butt, Fox brought her knees to  
her chest and stared at the ground. "Roi-sama..."  
What she said was barely audible.

Riza blinked, unsure of what she just heard.  
"Roi... sama?" She went back into focus. "Wait  
a minute... How do you know Roy?"

Fox looked back up at her and cocked her head to  
the side. Her wild yellow eyes stared intently.  
She really wanted to see if Roy was alright.

That's when Riza realized. The green leather  
collar, the eyes, the hair, even the way she  
cocked her head to the side. All of those things  
gave her away. "Fox?" She smiled and laughed  
lightly when the girl reacted with a shocked gasp.

Riza put away her gun and extended her hand towards  
the girl. "Come here."

Fox nodded and slowly stood up. Taking the woman's  
hand like a little child, she let herself be led  
to Roy and the others.

Roy was now awake and speaking with Maes. He  
stopped the Lieutenant Colonel and looked to Riza  
and Fox with a smile. "Who is THIS you've  
found?"

"This is Fox," Riza said simply. She smiled when  
he raised his brow. "It's just as you suspected.  
She's a chimera. And apparently, she can achieve  
human form."

Roy "hm"ed.

Maes turned to his superior, holding up a badge  
that was on one of the soldiers. "This badge  
matches none of the country's military insignias,  
or that of any of the other countries for that  
matter."

Roy nodded. "I see... We should report back to HQ  
and inform them of our findings."

"Sir!" his subordinates responded.

Roy looked to Fox. "I assume you were the one  
who patched me up." He received a shy nod in  
response, to which he smiled. "Thank you."  
He packed everything back into the bag and  
handed it to Fox. "Good girl," he said while  
patting her on the head. 


	9. Getting Settled

Once everyone was bandaged up and taken  
care of, the group headed back towards  
the village. They soon found their cars  
and prepared to leave. Bidding farewell  
to the villagers, the nine-man team drove  
back to Central City HQ. 

There were quite a few things that needed  
to be done once everyone returned. First,  
they needed to do something about Fox.

"If she's an escapee, that would mean that  
someone's out looking for her," Maes noted.  
"We should keep her under protective  
custody, and maybe even enlist her as a  
state alchemist, or at least as a military  
personnel."

Fox looked over at Roy, who was scratching  
his chin. The man appeared to be in deep  
thought.

Finally, the Colonel nodded. "That's not  
a bad idea. We'll put her under protective  
custody, and at the same time train her to  
become a state alchemist."

Roy turned to Riza. "Hawkeye, find a room  
for her and start the paperwork for her  
stay here. Also, I want her prepared for  
the first alchemy training course."

Riza saluted. "Sir!" She turned to Fox  
with a warm smile. "Come this way, Fox."

The girl nodded and hesitantly followed  
the First Lieutenant. Every few steps,  
she would look back at the two men, who  
merely motioned for her to keep going.

Riza led Fox to the woman's dormitory and  
found an unoccupied room. Taking out a  
ring of keys, she unlocked the door. "Let's  
take a look." She showed the girl around  
the room.

The room was a nice size and was well  
furnished. With its blue-painted walls and  
maple-colored wooden floor, it certainly  
had a warm feeling about it. The room had  
a full-sized bed, a desk and chair, a  
dresser, a couch, and a small bathroom  
attached to it.

Fox looked around in amazement. "This room...  
is mine?" She looked up at Riza, who smiled  
and nodded. She let out a small laugh.

Riza took out a spare key and handed it to  
Fox. "Here's the key to the room. Don't lose  
it."

Fox nodded with a grunt. "Thank you," she  
said rather shyly as she took the key.

Riza nodded. "No problem. Now, I need to  
begin the paperwork. I'll leave you to  
explore your room. Oh..." She reached into  
her pocket and pulled out some cash.

Handing it over to the girl, she said, "You're  
going to need some new clothes. The uniform  
will be provided for you, but this money is for  
anything else you might need, like some off-duty  
clothing."

Fox beamed as she took the money. "Thank you."

Riza smiled, waved goodbye, and headed off  
towards her office.

Fox decided to explore her room a bit. She  
counted her cash, pocketed it, and looked around.


End file.
